sultanate

/ˈsʌltənət/

//ˈsʌltənət// noun

"sultanate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sultanate” is uncommon English (frequency #57,108 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,108
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sovereign or vassal princely state—usually Muslim—where the ruler is styled sultan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sultanate · sultanate · English

sultanate · rank #57,108 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,108
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sunlit

Nearest frequency peer: sunlit (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “sultanate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “sultanate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sultanate
PropertyValue
Headwordsultanate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsʌltənət/
Letters9
Frequency rank#57,108
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sultanate” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sultanatefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “sunlit” (#57,109), “superbike” (#57,110), “subgenre” (#57,105). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sultanate” is #57,108. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sultanate is uncommon English at frequency #57,108 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsʌltənət/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

sultanate doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Classical Persian سَلْطَنَت (saltanat). By surface analysis, sultan + -ate (forms noun denoting rank or office, the concrete charge of it). The correct English form is sultanate, spelled S-U-L-T-A-N-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sovereign or vassal princely state—usually Muslim—where the ruler is styled sultan.
  2. 2
    The office or position of sultan.

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian سَلْطَنَت (saltanat). By surface analysis, sultan + -ate (forms noun denoting rank or office, the concrete charge of it).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sultanate"?
"sultanate" is spelled S-U-L-T-A-N-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌltənət/.
What does "sultanate" mean?
As a noun, "sultanate" means: A sovereign or vassal princely state—usually Muslim—where the ruler is styled sultan.
How do you pronounce "sultanate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sultanate" is /ˈsʌltənət/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sultanate"?
Borrowed from Classical Persian سَلْطَنَت (saltanat). By surface analysis, sultan + -ate (forms noun denoting rank or office, the concrete charge of it). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sultanate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list